ABSTRACT
Identity-based claim-making is prevalent across Southeast Asia but its character and mobilisation vary markedly. The multitudes of ethnic and indigenous groups in the region often form fractured civil societies that reduce possibilities for larger solidarity movements. Grassroots organisations formed along identity lines often have competing interests while states manipulate existing fault-lines to prevent the rise of a coherent civil society. However, in rare cases, alliances can form, where common agendas create opportunities for broad claims against the state. As such, both ethnic and indigenous minorities in Southeast Asia have explored a wide range of claim-making activities from protest to civil war. This chapter examines indigenous claim-making as a unique subset of ethnic claim-making. It contrasts both ethnic and indigenous claim-making in Myanmar, Indonesia, and the Philippines in order to show how different state institutions shape the nature of contention when claims are made at local and national levels. The chapter shows how different groups navigate these structures to either assert their uniqueness or form broad coalitions. Through comparative analysis, it demonstrates the general pattern of civil society contention for ethnic and indigenous minorities in Southeast Asia, while situating it within the specific political and social contexts of each case examined.
